Kelvin High School

Parent Advisory Council

Minutes of the meeting on March 6, 2008

Present: Cathy Purchase, Chair and Recorder, Risa Altman, Milli Khan, Lynn Rutner Devisscher and Illana Steele.

Staff: Jim Brown and Maria Silva

Presentation

Constable Grant Gusberti, School Resource Officer for the South District of the Winnipeg School Division, provided an overview of his schedule within the District and then answered  questions from parents. He advised that students recognize his authority and that there now appears to be a calmness within schools.

1.      Approval of Agenda

The meeting was called to order by Cathy Purchase. Risa Altman added an item, Questions, to New Business.  The agenda, with the addition, was accepted by consensus.

2.      Approval of Minutes, Meeting February 6, 2008       

      The minutes were received with amendments to the description of the Grade 9 Math curriculum for 2008/2009.

3.      Student Report  

Sarah Manteuffel thanked Parent Council for the donation of $500 towards the purchase of a commercial grill. She reported that all four of the Spirit Days, including the Decade Day, the Staff-Student Basketball Game and Wacky Day, enjoyed heavy student participation. The Student Council is now starting to plan the end of year BBQ. The Council has been discussing the possibility of holding elections in June rather than September.

4.      Administration Report

      Further to discussion at the February 6th meeting, Jim Brown advised that the Grade 9 end of semester exams were being reviewed and that  there was a maximum allocation of $3,500 from the Children's Heritage Fund to each school regardless of whether the donation was requested by the school or by the parent council.

      He advised that the Staff Appreciation Breakfast was very much appreciated by the staff.

      The presentation for prospective Grade 9 students/parents took a different approach this year, with booth presentation of the various subjects by teachers. The event generated much interest and the atmosphere was exciting! Departments and teachers are now discussing comments on the assessment for learning component of the Department Plans and the School Plan. A WSD Workshop on Assessment for Learning is scheduled for the end of March.

5.            Committee Reports

      South District Advisory Committee

      There was no quorum for the meeting on February 27. The purpose of the meeting was to determine the position of South District schools on the 2008/2009 First Draft Budget and the Provincial Tax Incentive Grant. As there was no quorum, individual schools provided feedback from their Parent Councils.   The News Release issued by the WSD March 4 stated that the Trustees approved the 2008/2009 budget, accepted the TIG, listed a deficit of $289,000 and posted no increase to the educational portion of the property tax bill.

      French Immersion Advisory Committee

      Allison Koots attended the meeting on February 19 and gave a report of happenings at Kelvin including the PAC discussion on the need for a second gym. She is willing to continue as the Kelvin representative.

      Financial Report

      The current balance is $525.

6.            Old Business

      Information on access to the Children's Heritage Fund was presented in the Administration Report. Discussion on the Second Gym was put over to the next PAC meeting, April 17, 2008.

7.      New Business

A presentation on the Physical Education Plan would take place at the May 7, 2008 PAC Meeting.

PAC Meetings for 2008/2009 would continue with meetings scheduled for the evenings of Parent/Teacher Interviews.

Questions were answered during the course of the Meeting, primarily with the Administration Report.           

8.      Next Meeting: Thursday, April 17, 2008.

9.      There being no further business, the Meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m.